Spiker youth is key to reaching NCAA Tournament
Even though Utah State Head Coach Burt Fuller is extremely high on spiker Carolyn Forbush, little has been written about her. Why? Forbush, a freshman outside hitter, has not played with the Aggies this season because of a stress fracture in her foot.
Although Fuller has not confirmed she will redshirt this season, he doesn’t see the point in putting her in any of the team’s upcoming games, including Thursday’s contest against Cal State Fullerton. The Aggies host the Titans at 7 p.m.
“She is still not cleared to go,” he said. “It’s getting past the point to why would you waste someone for two or three weeks out of the season if that is all it is going to be. We just want her healthy. That is our main concern.”
Because when Forbush is healthy, she is deadly on the court.
She earned first-team all-division and all-region honors during her season year and she helped Green Valley High School in Las Vegas, Nev. win the state championship as a junior. The team finished fifth in the state in her sophomore and senior seasons.
Forbush was also a member of the Nevada Juniors 17-1 Black Club, which finished fifth at the national championships during her senior season.
She was also a three-time scholar athlete at Green Valley.
“You haven’t seen her yet, but she is a good player,” Fuller said.
With Forbush, and only losing two seniors to graduation – Erin Cartwright and Taubi Neves – the team is in good shape in the future.
And perhaps the inspiration for Utah State could be the progress UC Irvine has made in the last few years.
“Charlie [Brande] is a really good coach,” Fuller said. “He’s been doing this all of his all life. All of my life he has been coaching. He is a good friend and I am happy that his program has improved. He has found ways to win with the type of players he has. Hopefully, as a coach that is what you are looking for, improvement over time.”
The Anteaters are looking for their first USA Today/AVCA poll Top 25 appearance since 1988 as they host UC Santa Barbara on Friday. The teams are tied for first place in the Big West Conference.
“Our future is pretty encouraging,” Fuller said. “We’ll get better. We do have some young players on our team and I do think our program is going to improve down the stretch.”
When Fuller came to Utah State in 2001 he led the team to the second round of the NCAA Tournament and finished the season ranked 21st in the country. Last year, the Aggies finished with an overall record of 14-16 and 7-11 in league play.
The Titans are currently 7-12 on the season and tied for last place in the Big West with a 1-6 record. CSF knocked off UC Riverside in five games for its league win of the season.
-juag@cc.usu.edu